Presentation Design

How to Use the New 3D Model Feature in PowerPoint?

This feature is available for Office 365 subscribers. It is also available in all of Microsoft Office applications, like Word and Excel.

Have you tried the 3D model feature in PowerPoint?

If not, you should try it out.

Imagine being able to present 3D model in PowerPoint to your client.

It takes a PowerPoint presentation to the next level!

The 3D model feature in PowerPoint has been developed with special features that enable cross-platform flexibility.

3D models in PowerPoint can enable you to be creative and productive.

3D models have been around for a long long time and we have seen them in action in several applications and many industries use 3D model software to develop plans and project models.

Microsoft recognized this requirement of PowerPoint users and made it possible to insert 3D models in PowerPoint.

Currently, it works only with Windows PowerPoint, not on the Mac version.

3D modelling in PowerPoint presentations is an added bonus for those from the entertainment, gaming, architecture, publishing, advertising and marketing, geology and science industries, to name a few.

And guess what?

You can also create 3D models by using Paint 3D which is available with Windows 10 (latest version, office insider builds) as a default app.

You can download royalty free models from Remix3D.com. Remiz3D is a community where you can store and share all your 3D models. You can save them directly from 3D Paint.

Getting started with 3D Models in PowerPoint

Inserting 3D models follows the same steps that you would use to insert photos or videos in PowerPoint.

Open a new PowerPoint or an existing deck that you want to add 3D Models to.

Go to Insert → Select 3D Models

From the drop-down menu, you can pick how you want to insert a 3D file.

If you have your own 3D models that you want to insert into the presentation, that is awesome!

There are specific 3D file formats that can be inserted into PowerPoint slide. See below.

Select the format that your file is saved as.

If you don’t have a file, then you can opt for “Online Source” where you can search for what you want, or you can pick free models from Remix 3D.

If you have an account with Remix 3D, you can easily create 3D models in 3D Paint and save them in the community.

Once you insert the 3D model, you can rotate the model according to the angle you want to view it from.

To be able to rotate the model, click on the 3D model and the rotation tool will appear at the center. Hold the mouse pointer inside the rotation tool then rotate it freely in any direction.

However, you will encounter a few limitations when using 3D models in PowerPoint. You can’t edit 3D models within PowerPoint. At least not yet, until the tool is improved. Customization has to be done in Paint 3D.

There are restrictions when it comes to animation too. However, it works well with morph transition, and the Pan & Zoom feature of 3D models.

Adding animation

Morph transition is as effective as animation. Let’s see how.

Say you have a slide with 3D models.

Let’s add some effects to give the slide some motion. First things first. Fix the position of the models as per your preferences before adding the morph effect. Here is an example.

Select a model. Here we have selected Earth. To change the size of the model, in the menu section, go to format and select the Pan & Zoom feature.

You will see an icon on the right side of the model you selected. Click on the + icon and you will notice your cursor change into a two-direction arrow.

Use your mouse to zoom in and out and resize or change the focus of the object. You can also use the four corners of the model to resize the object.

Once you have positioned the objects, duplicate the slide.

In the duplicate slide, reposition the objects to how you would like the slide to appear after. Like a before and after effect. See image below.

Now add morph transition to the slides.

Go to transition and select Morph.

Under the Timing section, you can set the duration, you can add sound, and under the advance slide, you can select if you want to have the morph come in at mouse click or without it and you can just set the duration.

There, you have animation! Morph is a fantastic feature to create an animation effect.

You don’t need to be a design expert to be able to create simple 3D animation in PowerPoint.

I created the above slides in just two minutes. And here is the final result.

For those who are familiar with 3D modelling, it might be disappointing that Microsoft currently does not support camera angle and lighting as it does in other 3D modelling software.

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